Former Grand Mufti of Lebanon Mohammed Rashid Qabbani Issues Fatwa: It Is an Islamic Duty to Wage Jihad to Liberate Palestine from the "Foreign Jewish Occupiers," All Peace Agreements with Them Null and Void Former Grand Mufti of Lebanon Mohammed Rashid Qabbani issued a fatwa according to which Palestinians and all Arabs and Muslims have a duty to wage Jihad "to liberate Palestine from the occupation of the Jews of the Balfour Declaration." Sheikh Qabbani compared the liberation of Palestine today to the Jihad waged by the Prophet Muhammad, by Omar ibn Al-Khattab, and by Saladin, and declared that Islam forbids the Palestinians and all Arab and Muslim countries "to surrender, to reconcile, to make peace treaties, or to concede a single inch of Arab Palestinian land to the foreign Jewish occupiers." Sheikh Qabbani's address aired on Al-Mayadeen TV on May 16.

Hamas Leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar: We Are Coordinating with Hizbullah, Iran on an Almost Daily BasisHamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar said, in an interview with the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV channel, that with the help of Iran, Hamas has managed to significantly develop its capabilities. Sinwar added that Iran has provided Hamas’s Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades and other Gaza factions "a lot of money, equipment, and expertise." He further said that his organization had "excellent" relations with Hizbullah and that there is coordination on an "almost daily" basis between the two organizations, and described Hamas’s relations with Iran, the IRGC, and Qasem Solimani as "strong and warm." The interview aired on May 21.

US State Department denies report of UNWRA aid freeze

The U.S. State Department has denied a report that $125 million in American funding to UNRWA has been frozen.

Palestinian boys raise their hands at a school in Gaza supported by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in September 2011. Credit: U.N. Photo/Shareef Sarhan.

The U.S. State Department has denied a report that $125 million in American funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been frozen.

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The Axios news website reported last Friday that the U.S. payment to UNWRA—representing one-third of America’s annual contribution to the U.N. refugee agency that is solely dedicated to the Palestinians—was due to arrive on Jan.1, but was halted. Earlier last week, President Donald Trump threatened to cut off aid to the Palestinians for their refusal to negotiate with Israel.

An unnamed State Department official told Reuters that the Axios report “is very misleading. Just because they were expecting the money on the 1st, and they did not get it at that time, does not mean it was suspended or canceled.”

UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness said the agency had not been notified of a formal U.S. decision on funding.

Last week, as part of a series of tweets on U.S. foreign aid, Trump wrote that “with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that the Israeli leader “supports President Trump’s critical approach and believes that practical steps should be taken to change the situation in which UNRWA perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem instead of resolving it.”